Universal Pictures sets 2015 release date for Legendary's 'Warcraft'

"World of Warcraft: Cataclysm." Universal Pictures will release a "Warcraft" film in December 2015, the studio announced.

"World of Warcraft: Cataclysm." Universal Pictures will release a "Warcraft" film in December 2015, the studio announced. (Blizzard Entertainment Inc.)

Daniel Miller

Universal Pictures will release "Warcraft," a film from Legendary Pictures based on the best-selling video game franchise of the same name, on Dec. 18, 2015, the studio announced Tuesday afternoon.

"Warcraft," to be directed by "Source Code's" Duncan Jones, is the first Legendary project to get a release date since the production company signed a deal with Universal in July.

Under terms of the arrangement, Universal, a unit of NBCUniversal, will market, co-finance and distribute Legendary films for five years beginning in 2014. Legendary, producer of the recent sci-fi action movie "Pacific Rim," previously had a distribution and co-production deal with Warner Bros.

Though "Warcraft" is the first Legendary movie to get a release date, it isn't expected to be the first film from the company that Universal puts out. The Jeff Bridges adventure picture "Seventh Son," previously slated for release by Warner Bros. in January, is expected to be released by Universal, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly.

"Seventh Son" would probably be released ahead of "Warcraft." However, Universal has not set a release date for "Seventh Son."

Also, an untitled Legendary project from director Michael Mann, which has wrapped filming and is now in post-production, is also likely to be released by Universal before "Warcraft."

"Warcraft," written by Jones and Charles Leavitt, is based on an Activision Blizzard Inc. gaming franchise that has spawned more than two dozen novels, comic book series, tabletop games and a magazine.

The best-known of the "Warcraft" games is "World of Warcraft," a multiplayer online role-playing game that counted 7.7 million subscribers in July, according to a news release from Santa Monica-based Activision Blizzard.